Slipping the Bonds of Yesterday
by Peifmaster
Summary: As much as Nunnally is Lelouch's motivation, she is also his shackles. In a world without needing to protect a crippled sister, Lelouch can reach his true potential. Lelouch gets a head start on conquering the world. Lelouch x harem.
1. Prologue, Turn 1

Story Basis:

This story is pretty much a rewrite of my Early Bird Gets the Throne fanfic. I kept the same premise, Lelouch stays in Britannia and no Nunnally or Marianne, but I took out the military school and fixed the timeline a bit. Harem listing will include C.C., Kallen, Milly, Shirley, Anya, and Euphemia. Lelouch will be nowhere near as arrogant as in the original anime, mainly because he has more experience by the time of cannon episode 1. With that said, expect somewhat slow updates, boot camp is over but training is still the main focus of my time. If you notice errors or grammar mistakes, please let me know.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass, wish I did.

* * *

 **Slipping the Bonds of Yesterday – Prologue, Turn 1**

 **Aries Villa, Pendragon – 2010 a.t.b**

It had been a long day for the vi Britannias. Empress Consort Marianne vi Britannia spent the entire day at the Ashford Foundation building in Pendragon, going over reports and projections for the new fourth generation model of knightmare frame they were designing. While the first edition of the Glasgow was functional, there were still many improvements that could be made to the efficiency and weight reduction. The new second edition Glasgow model would be slightly faster and would remain powered for fifteen percent longer. Being one of the best pilots in the field and a political ally of the Ashfords, Marianne was a major source of input on the piloting side of things. For the pair of Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia, all that work for their mother meant they were sent to spend the day with their half-sister Euphemia. It had been a wonderful day for the two sisters, one they spent chasing around their brother and forcing him to play house and tea party with them.

Lelouch, despite the otherwise grueling experience he had been through, was happy that he at least had something to show for the day. He had snuck into his older half-sibling Cornelia's room after escaping from the terrors that were Euphemia and Nunnally, and had stolen a peek at Cornelia's collection of knightmare pilot manuals. He became so engrossed in reading them that he hadn't heard Cornelia return. When she found him curled up in her study, Lelouch was terrified of her wrath. But much to his surprise, Cornelia started laughing when she saw what he was reading. When she questioned him as to why he snuck in instead of just asking, he informed her that she would most definitely have said 'no', because she was adamant about retaining Euphemia's innocence and even his own to a small extent. He was unconcerned with what children his age normally dealt with, and wanted to know about knightmare frames, which he informed her with a small amount of petulance in his voice. Cornelia had been mildly annoyed that he had snuck in, but seeing her brother taking an interest in something she enjoyed made the big sister part of her jump for joy. She spent the next two hours explaining to him all about knightmare frames, and she even agreed to show him a pilot simulator next time he came over. When it came time to return home, she sent him off with a spare copy of the manual.

And said book was what saved his life. Halfway from the car to the front doors, Lelouch realized that he had left the manual on his seat in the limo. He let his mother know and went back to retrieve it. It was simple and quick, fifteen seconds at most. He walked back to the main entrance, entering into the main hall and seeing his mother and younger sister climbing up the grand stair. He was halfway across the room when the two reached the midway point of the stairs, and then suddenly he was on his back, staring up at the ceiling, which was glowing in the shimmering red and yellow light of the hall. He felt a dull ache in the back of his head, and his limbs felt heavy. The air around him felt oppressively warm, and his vision started to go grey and cloudy. He was unable to form another thought as his vision faded, and his mind slipped away.

* * *

Anya Alstreim wasn't supposed to be awake right now. She was supposed to be in bed sleeping. Her current stay at the Aries Villa was supposed to be for her to be trained in proper etiquette. But, as was normal for the seven year old, she was walking through the halls in the night, listening to the silence that formed when the estate slumbered at night. Her parents had never cared for her, shipping her off to court to be trained as a 'proper lady' by whoever would take her. It was blind luck that Nunnally vi Britannia saw her when she arrived, and wonderingly commented that she had a similar hair color as her favorite half-sister. When Nunnally learned that she was the same age and learned of the reason she was at court, the precocious royal pleadingly asked her mother to take her under her wing. While Empress Marianne's outward altruism was in reality a carefully sustained lie, she decided to indulge her daughter. And thus, Anya Alstreim ended up in the care of the vi Britannias. So far her days consisted of tutors cramming book learning and the rules of being a lady into her head. It was tiring and boring, and left her decidedly lonely. While it was fun to spend her few days off with Nunnally, her only friend had been away today, leaving her in a melancholy mood; which explained her midnight walk through the estate.

She was about to return to her room, when a loud, echoing _boom_ came from the direction of the grand stair. Curious, the small girl quickly walked in the direction of the noise. When she noted a charred scent on the air and saw flickering yellow light ahead, her pace increased rapidly. She came running around the corner to see the main hall wreathed in flames. The grand stair was gone, a gaping nothingness where the structure once was, with debris haphazardly around the hall as if it had been raining pieces of blackened wood. Her eyes danced about, looking over the room. Over towards the front entrance, she spotted a small figure lying on the ground, his front dusted with ash.

'Most likely a child of one of the servants,' she thought. The servants had always been kind to her, and she found herself moving across the room before she realized it. She carefully avoided the patches of flames and debris -her slippers would only offer her so much protection- yet moving quickly nonetheless.

She got to the figure, realizing it was a boy with black hair. His eyes were closed and there was a trickle of blood coming from the back of his head. Anya wasn't strong by any means, and while the boy was skinny, she was unable to pick him up. Instead, she grabbed him from behind under his armpits and dragged him towards the front doors. She had to gently lay the boy back down for a second so that she could open the large main doors. She passed through the entrance, seeing activity down the driveway. As she dragged her charge away from the building and off to the side, she saw flashing lights and heard sirens in the distance, as fire trucks raced towards their location. The guards from the front gate were only just now arriving, and were horrified by the scene before them.

Anya had deposited the boy under a small tree a little ways away from the building. As she contemplated what to do next, a turquoise haired guard spotted her and ran up in front of her.

"Miss, can you tell me what's happened?" he asked, his voice cracking. He seemed frantic and distraught, unable to take in what had occurred. Anya was absurdly calm as she responded, the shock having set in and not letting her truly come to terms with the event.

"I was walking to my room, and I heard loud _boom_. I ran to the main hall and it was on fire and the staircase was gone. I saw this boy and dragged him away." At that point, Jeremiah noticed the small form lying next to the girl. He was shocked to see the black hair and ash covered face.

"Prince Lelouch!" He shouted, kneeling down and checking him over. While he was unconscious and had a minor head wound, he seemed otherwise unhurt. Anya was shocked, having thought he was just a servant. Now that she looked closer, she could tell that it was indeed the prince. She had seen him only a few times during her brief stay, as he usually avoided her and Nunnally when they were doing 'girly things', as he referred to them. The man turned back to the girl, "Did you see anyone else in the hall? The Empress or the Princess?" He asked frantically. When she shook her head, the guard was wracked with grief. He asked the girl to stay by the boy while he went to get paramedics and organize a search for the other missing royals.

A short time later, an ambulance rushed up behind the newly arrived fire trucks. The staff were slowly being rounded up and checked to see if anyone was missing. The head of Marianne's guard, which happened to be one Cornelia li Britannia, arrived and took over the scene. The turquoise haired guard from earlier returned and insisted that he escort the prince to the hospital. When the paramedics had loaded the prince into the vehicle, the man had Anya join him in the back to escort the prince. She was hesitant at first, but he insisted as she had saved his prince's life. After they started driving away, another paramedic started attending to the several small burns that she had. She was startled, as she hadn't noticed them before. She barely stayed awake long enough to see the last bandage applied, before the exhaustion from the night's activities hit her, and she leaned her head back and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Pendragon Royal Hospital – the next morning**

Lelouch vi Britannia had a massive headache. He squeezed his eyes closed as tight as he could, as his jumbled thoughts tried to align themselves around the throbbing of his skull. He could remember walking forward, and then seeing the ceiling, and then nothing. Nothing else after that. Gradually, the pain subsided to a dull ache, and he slowly opened his eyes. He found himself in a hospital room, laying down on a bed and hooked up to an IV and heart monitor. As he looked over his surroundings, he noticed a girl sitting in the corner of the room. She was curled up in a chair, her head against the wall and eyes closed, asleep. He lay there for a while, simply looking at the girl. She was familiar, and he could remember seeing her with his sister a few times.

That thought made his heartbeat spike. His sister, where was she? He didn't know where his mother and sister were, and he was supposedly in a hospital. What happened? As his frantic thoughts ran at pace with his loudly racing heartbeat, a nurse rushed into the room. Seeing the prince awake, she called to someone outside the room, and rushed up to the bed. She gently laid her hand on his, telling him that he was at the hospital, that he had minor injuries but he was otherwise fine. He looked past her to see a man glancing into the room. His hair reminded him of his favorite of the guards, a man named Jeremiah Gottwald. Seeing the orange colored eyes that went along with the turquoise hair, he affirmed that it was indeed his friend Jerry.

"Jerry," he croaked out, his voice dry and hoarse. The nurse poured some water into a small cup and held it to his lips, allowing him to drink and sooth his throat. After ordering a pair of guards next to him to keep watch, Jeremiah entered the room and knelt at his prince's side. He looked into the eyes of his prince expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

"Jerry, what happened? Why am I in the hospital? Where's Nunnally and mother?" asked the prince.

Jeremiah's face was filled with grief, as he related the past night's events to him. It appeared that a bomb had been placed under the staircase, in the small storage hollow beneath. His mother and sister had been directly on top of the explosive when it was detonated, killing them instantly and vaporizing their bodies. They wouldn't have had time to even notice, just one second they were there and the next, nothing. They were gone before their minds could even register the pain of what had happened. The blast had thrown him across the hall, giving him a mild concussion when he landed. The room was covered with debris and flames, and as for the staircase, it was as if it had never existed, a large black scorch where it had stood. The fire had managed to claim a large section of the building before it was put out. The staff were fine, a few with mild lung irritation from smoke inhalation. Lelouch was in shock, his emotions unable to deal with the sudden change in his life. He was sure the grief would come, but for now he was simply empty. It was at this point that Lelouch asked who the girl in the corner was.

"Her name is Anya Alstreim, my lord. You may recall her from her time spent with Princess Nun-", he cut off abruptly, choking over the word, "with her highness this last month. She was being tutored and taught etiquette alongside her. She happened to be awake and walking to her room when the incident occurred, and rushed to the scene. She managed to pull you from the building and away from the fire," Jeremiah informed him.

Lelouch looked over at the girl. She had bandages on her arms, indicative of minor burns if one considered the events. He made a mental note to thank her, and then asked the question that had been next on his lips. "Why is she sleeping here?"

"She politely insisted that she stay with you, my lord. It was more like asking permission, but I could tell that she very much wanted to stay. She was obviously shaken by the events and it's not like she could return to the villa. Given the fact that she saved your life and did not present a security risk, I allowed it. I hope that was alright my lord?"

"It is fine Jeremiah, good job. Keep her close, and see to it that she stays safe. Now if you don't mind, I'm very tired. You can tell me the rest of the details later."

"Very well, your Highness."

And with that, the young prince who recently and suddenly learned that he was all alone in the world except for his favorite guard and a young girl fell back asleep.

* * *

 **Two days later**

During the two days spent in the hospital, Lelouch had gone over everything Cornelia turned up in her investigation, which was surprisingly little. The traces of explosive residue were confirmed to be Britannian in origin, which meant it could have come from almost anywhere. The guards on watch didn't recall seeing anything out of the ordinary during the days leading up to the incident. On top of that, the records from the security cameras showed nothing as well. While this lack of information was upsetting, it did tell Lelouch one thing. It was an inside job. The only way for a bomb to be placed while avoiding security cameras and guards was if the person was aware of the security measures. Considering that it was the residence of the most favored of the royal consorts, it meant it had to be someone in a similarly high level of power in court that was responsible. The publicly released statement about terrorists was a blatant lie, as it simply wasn't possible for terrorists to have beaten the security in the way it had been. After he had gone over the investigation report twice, he laid back and formulated his plans. He needed to think carefully about his next move. While some would have considered it inhuman for him to be plotting and planning at a time like this, especially with his young age, it was simply the way he was. The majority of the royal family were wired with tendencies towards plotting and politicking, and Lelouch was no different. Strategy and planning were inherent in his nature, and by focusing on that side of him he was able to distract himself from the impending grief he would soon have to contend with.

His planning had led him here, to the royal palace and to his father's court. Lelouch was escorted to the palace by Jeremiah, and he had decided to let Anya accompany them when she asked if she could stay with the two of them. Neither of the two had left his side for more than a few minutes during the past two days.

He left Jeremiah and Anya in a small waiting room as he was announced into his father's throne room. He calmly walked down the center of the room, projecting a sureness and confidence that he wasn't actually feeling, but he couldn't afford to let his guard down here around the nobles of the court. Already they whispered among themselves, sneering at him and smug that the commoner empress had been removed. Lelouch made his way before the throne, dropping to his knee.

"Hail, your Majesty."

"Speak boy. What reason do you come before me today?" Emperor Charles zi Britannia asked in an uninterested tone.

"As you are no doubt aware, your Majesty, my mother and sister have recently been murdered. This leaves me without a guardian. I request your permission to have my half-sister Cornelia assume my guardianship for the time being."

"I see no problem with her assuming the role as long as it doesn't interfere with her duties to the Empire. Though why you brought such a trifling matter before me I cannot imagine. If that is all, begone."

"It's not quite everything, your Majesty. I also humbly ask to be allowed to bring my knight and retainer with me."

Charles raised his eyebrow ever so slightly at that. It wasn't too odd for such a young member of nobility to have a retainer or knight at that age, but it was definitely a new development as far as his son Lelouch was concerned. Not very loving of a father was he, but he was at the very least knowledgeable on the status and activities of most of his offspring. He decided that he could spare the boy a moment or two, and asked, "And what would be the names of your two servants, boy?"

"Sir Jerimiah Gottwald, and one Anya Alstreim, your Majesty," Lelouch responded. Knowing that more information would be demanded, he continued. "Sir Gottwald was one of the members of my mother's royal guard, and he has shown competency and skill in his work during these troubles that my family has experienced. Miss Alstreim was studying etiquette at Aries Villa during the incident, and helped me from the wreckage of the fire. It seemed fitting to allow her to work as my retainer as a reward." While she would be his retainer in name, she wouldn't really be one. She would be more of a confidant and pseudo-sister than anything else.

"Very well. I have no issue with your requests. You are dismissed, boy."

At that, Lelouch bowed and backed away from the throne.

Emperor Charles zi Britannia watched the retreating figure of his son Lelouch, and thoughts about his future flowed through his head. He had been expecting a tantrum from an irate child about the fate of his family. But what he had witnessed instead had been a confident and shrewd young man, who was aware of just how precarious his current position was. Lelouch would require watching, and he could prove useful to the Empire in the future.

Lelouch met up with Anya and Jeremiah on the way out, both falling in step beside the young prince, and the trio returned to their temporary residence at the home of the li Britannias. Cornelia had insisted, and Lelouch saw no reason to refuse. And now that she would be assuming his guardianship, something that she had quickly agreed to when he had asked it of her, it wasn't so temporary anymore. As Lelouch strode to his now permanent room, he reflected over the last two days.

Several of Lelouch's plans had already been accomplished, and his recent audience with the Emperor only solidified what he had already arranged. He had asked Jeremiah to be his personal knight, as his position as one of Marianne's guards was no longer in the picture. Jeremiah had immediately sworn himself to the young prince, who in his mind was the only one whom he could follow to make up for his failure of Empress Marianne and Princess Nunnally. Despite numerous assurances by Lelouch otherwise, Jeremiah still felt at fault at least partially for their fate. The other tag-along Lelouch brought with him was little Anya, who had no place to go to now that Aries and her mistress were gone. Lelouch didn't know what he saw in her; a friend, someone he owed a debt to, or a replacement for Nunnally. No matter what is was, having her around helped fill a little bit of the whole that had formed in his life. Anya herself had no issue with being named as his retainer, and was simply grateful that he was keeping her around. He was able to surmise that she also had a space in her life that needed filled after losing her only friend and her purpose in life.

Another item he had dealt with had been the Ashfords. Without Marianne to lift them up in court, they were quickly headed to ruin. The enemies of the vi Britannia line had been lined up like sharks around the Ashford Foundation. Lelouch had ingeniously bought them out of their manufacturing business, and had severed ties between the vi Britannias and the Ashfords. This had allowed a grateful Ruben Ashford to slip away from the political hyenas and escape mostly untouched from the disaster that had been the last several days. Lelouch's last word from Ruben was that he was heading for Japan, something about setting up a school or some such project. Lelouch planned to keep in touch, despite whatever surface appearances he had to uphold. As for the knightmare manufacturing, Lelouch had decided to create his own company, as it could do nothing but benefit him. He himself had no financial or engineering expertise, but that's what hired professionals were for anyway. At the moment, he hadn't done much with the company, but he had sold the designs for the Glasgow to Royal Protectorate Industries. With the current political environment and without Marianne to boost development, there was no way that he could market the model himself. But by selling the designs to the governmental knightmare company, he made a decent amount of money that could be used to help startup the newly created LIC, Lamperouge Industrial Corporation. The majority of the Ashford Foundation's knightmare development branch had been folded into his company, minus a small portion that didn't want to continue and stay with the new fledgling company. Lelouch understood, and they were released with no hard feelings and a decent severance package. The current warehouse and manufacturing complex was being left as is, and would run independently for the near future, until Lelouch had a direction and need for it. His bank account as a Royal was more than enough for him to sustain the small company for now, but he would need to invest and expand within a few years.

Lelouch finished his ruminations as his small party arrived at his suite of rooms. The main room held a fireplace and a small sitting area, with three bedrooms branching off of it. Each bedroom had its own bathroom and walk in closest. Jeremiah had originally disagreed with having the same size room as his liege, and that he didn't need anything that fancy, but Lelouch argued that it would allow him to stay close and better protect the two of them. Jeremiah really couldn't argue that point, and submitted to his prince's will. After the three entered their suite of rooms, Lelouch bid Anya and Jeremiah good night and retired to his own room. He was tired and the grief was finally starting to catch up with him now that he was no longer furiously plotting.

After washing up and throwing on a pair of silk pajamas, he lay in bed and gazed at the few belongings he had saved from Aries. Most of the villa had burned down, but some of Lelouch and Nunnally's rooms had been untouched. From his own room he had taken a black king piece and two knights, the only remains of his favorite chess set. From Nunnally's room he recovered one of her white rabbit plushies, which was slightly blackened from the fire and soot. He also found a charred picture of the vi Britannia family, his mother in the center and his sister on her left, with his presence on the right being burnt out of the picture. Staring at the picture while curling around the plushy, Lelouch let the tears he had held back for days finally flow free, as he cried himself to sleep. Anya had snuck in later during the night and crawled in next to Lelouch, his presence anchoring her after her life was turned upside down. That was how Jeremiah found them when he checked in to wake them in the morning. He allowed himself a small smile, and let them sleep in a little longer.

* * *

Several days later, the morning looked down on the royal cemetery with a cloud filled sky. Around a freshly filled pair of graves, a small group stood in the drizzling rain. Two pairs stood under pink umbrellas and one under a black umbrella. Under one pink umbrella was a purple haired woman beside a pink haired girl. Under the other was a dark skinned, silver haired woman next to a girl with slightly lighter pink hair.

Cornelia and Euphemia li Britannia were the only other members of the royal family present. Clovis had sent his condolences, but he was unable to attend. Beside Anya was the second member of Lelouch's knights, one Villetta Nu. She had been a friend of Jeremiah's graduating class at the academy, and one of the guards that was present at the hospital during Lelouch's stay. She had a steadfast loyalty to Jeremiah after she was put into his debt during their academy days, after an event that neither of the two ever talked about. Jeremiah had called her up asking for her help to guard his prince, as he didn't want to trust the other members of Marianne's guard and was certain of her loyalty to himself and the fact she was in no way involved. She had become a member of Lelouch's knights after Jeremiah had called her up to thank her again for her assistance, which was how Lelouch found out. After asking about Villetta's prospects and finding that they weren't all that bright, he stole her away from her position in the city's guardsmen and added her to his now plural knights, for which she was grateful and now felt doubly indebted to Jeremiah. Ladder climber she may be, but Lelouch didn't mind in the least after getting Jeremiah's positive recommendation of her.

While the two pairs under the pink umbrellas walked back to the car, Jeremiah and Lelouch lingered a moment more. As he turned to leave, Lelouch noticed a woman standing a ways away under a tree. She was looking right at him, and he had the feeling that he should know her. What helped him make the connection was her lime green hair and the grey umbrella she was holding. He knew her, he'd seen her once before at Aries.

It had been a while ago, maybe a year or so, and he'd been running from his siblings again. Euphemia and Nunnally were trying to force him into another game of tea party, and he was desperately trying to hide. He eventually found himself in a spare bedroom near his mother's room. With the door closed and his breath held, he heard the two running off down the hall in the direction he'd been headed. He was about to leave when his nose picked up the scent of baked dough and Italian seasonings. He walked around to the other side of the room's four-poster bed, and saw a woman curled up on the ground. She was wearing a grey dress, and her green hair was spread out across the floor behind her. In front of her was a large circular tray, with a few slices of what were the remains of a rather large pizza. Looking back on it he was unsure why he did it, but he pulled the blanket from the bed and gently tucked it around her sleeping form. After that he bid a hasty retreat to his room to finish his interrupted chess game he'd been playing against himself.

Seeing her here at the cemetery brought up a few questions for the young prince. He sent Gottwald back and proceeded to the tree, his hair collecting water since he had sent Jeremiah with the umbrella. As he approached the woman, he could tell she remained relaxed as she leaned against the tree. The foliage kept the rain off of the pair. Stopping in front of her, Lelouch decided to let her speak first, so he looked at her and raised an eyebrow, communicating that he was curious about her presence. After a few minutes silence, she eventually spoke.

"Do you know who I am?" Her voice was smooth and lacking all emotion. Yet her eyes seemed as if they held something, a secret for him to discover.

"I do not, but I believe I can at least infer that you were a friend of my mother, both by your presence here and at the Aries Villa." The last bit caught her off guard, she wasn't aware that she had been seen by the young prince. Lelouch caught the shock in her eyes, and could see her gears turning, trying to figure out when he might have seen her. Lelouch didn't feel like waiting for her to figure it out, so he enlightened her. "I saw you once when you were sleeping. I wandered into a spare bedroom and chanced upon you sleeping on the floor." Her eyes lit up at that, suddenly recalling a time when she fell asleep and woke up snugly wrapped in a blanket with no idea how she'd so thoroughly tucked herself in.

"I see. As you guessed, I was indeed a close friend of your mother. And you've no doubt already concluded that I'm not here solely to pay my respects." Lelouch nodded at this, waiting for her to continue. "You see, I'm here to make an offer to you. I know who is responsible for your mother's death." He gave a small gasp, his hands clenching and his eyes brimming with sudden determination. Before he could ask anything, she continued, "They are high up in the court, and very powerful. It would be almost impossible to touch them. But I can help you. I can give you power that will help you get revenge on those who have wronged you. However, you are as of yet not ready for it. When you become strong enough, I will find you again, and then I will offer you my help."

Lelouch had much that he wanted to ask, but he merely nodded, and settled with two things. "Why are you helping me?" was the first question.

"Because Marianne was one of the few people that I could actually call my friend." He seemed satisfied with that answer. His next question, however, didn't leave him satisfied.

"What's your name?" At that, she snickered, and turned and began walking away.

"That, my dear Lelouch vi Britannia, is something you'll have to wait and find out."

He stood there for a minute, simply watching her walk through the rain. Then he turned and headed for the waiting car that would return him to the li Britannia estate.

"Who were you talking to, my lord?" Jeremiah asked as the now soaked prince stepped up beside the car.

"Just a friend." He said in a light voice, not hinting at what was discussed. After Jeremiah sat down across from him, the car pulled away, with the sky shedding the tears that the young prince did not.


	2. Prologue, Turn 2

Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass, wish I did.

* * *

 **Slipping the Bonds of Yesterday – Prologue, Turn 2**

 **Residence of the li Britannias – 2015 a.t.b**

"Lelouch, come on! You promised us you'd join us today!" came the shout of a pink haired maiden as she barged into Lelouch's suite in the li Britannia villa. She was swiftly followed by another pink haired maiden and a chuckling purple haired woman.

"They've got you there Lelouch, you did promise them that you would join if they got me to go along with it," spoke up Cornelia as she spied the black haired youth reclining in front of his chess set with a knightmare manual in his hands and a PDA laying on the side table.

"Yes, yes, I never actually thought that they would manage to rope you into it. I thought that you had more important things to do than spend the day shopping," he replied with a sigh. Still, a deal was a deal. He had told Anya and Euphemia that he would accompany them shopping if they roped Cornelia into it, as he had thought that she would be training with her unit today. It seemed that she had taken the day off to join her siblings. Without any words of protest, Lelouch marked his page and followed the girls to the main hall where Jeremiah met him with his coat. As the limo pulled away from the entrance, Lelouch looked over its passengers.

To his left was Jeremiah, his stalwart knight and protector. To his right sat Anya and Euphemia, whispering and giggling over something, he really didn't want to try and find out. They had come a long way since Lelouch and company had come to stay at the li Britannia's home. Both girls had come to treat each other as sisters, somewhat but not quite filling the spot that Nunnally used to hold, but neither ever considering the other a replacement for Nunnally, merely another sister. Across from them sat Villetta, her eyes gazing out the window. Villetta had loosened up much since joining the group of young royals. She had been rather uptight and nervous when she first joined Lelouch, worried about making mistakes or upsetting her new lord. After five years though, she had managed to become a sort of mother figure for Euphemia and Anya, while gaining confidence in her position as a knight to Lelouch. Where Jeremiah escorted Lelouch everywhere, Villetta did the same for Anya and Euphemia, who were inseparable. Cornelia appreciated the extra help watching her precocious younger sibling. Speaking of, Cornelia herself was sitting next to Villetta and smiling fondly at her siblings.

Much had happened in five years. Lelouch had come to the conclusion early on that he absolutely refused to allow what he considered his remaining family to be taken from him as his mother and sister were. The only way he saw to accomplish that was to become more powerful than everyone else, or in other words, become Emperor. A lofty goal, yes, but he had time, and was in no rush. He also wasn't forgetting about that mysterious girl and her words on his family's killer. In addition, he had realized that he wouldn't always be there to protect his loved ones, just as his father hadn't been there to save his mother. This frustrated him to no end, but he settled for making sure his loved ones were also strong enough to protect themselves. It was the most he could do, and he was smart enough to realize that it was just how life was. He had convinced Jeremiah and Villetta to train him physically, so that he would be strong enough to protect himself if needed, and had eventually got Cornelia to allow Euphemia and Anya to join. While Cornelia really wanted to preserve Euphemia's innocence, Lelouch pointed out the same sad fact that he had come to realize: they wouldn't always be there to protect her. From there, it didn't take much to convince Cornelia to whole-heartedly approve of their training. Lelouch also held Cornelia to her word about training him to pilot a knightmare, which she had made earlier that fateful day. Euphemia and Anya refused to be left out, so the three of them were all trained by Cornelia. Lelouch's knights were also trained in knightmare usage, as the knightmare had recently become the standard in the Britannian army.

After the results of the second pacific war, during which the strength and overwhelming advantage of the Glasgow was demonstrated, the knightmare became the newest weapon of war. Recent years had seen the release of the RPI Sutherland, a direct successor to the Glasgow. The Sutherland was superior in almost all ways to the Glasgow, and was necessary for the Empire to develop as other nations were now trying to acquire their own knightmares after seeing the effectiveness of them in combat. The Sutherland was what Lelouch and company had been training on, but everyone in the group had dabbled with the Gloucester, the recently released anti-knightmare frame. Cornelia and her knights were more likely to stick with the new frame, while Lelouch's group along with Euphemia were satisfied with the Sutherland.

Between the combat training that was being taught in bits and pieces and the knightmare pilot training, Lelouch's days were mostly filled already. He spent most of the rest of his time learning economics and engineering, to help him run his new company. That's not to say he never had time off. Days like today with the shopping trip or a simple relaxing day to hang out and play with his sisters were not uncommon. It was days like this that made Lelouch truly thankful, as despite the hardship he had went through he still had those he loved and who loved him surrounding him.

* * *

Across the city, the most powerful man in the world reclined into his chair inside his private office at the imperial palace, exhausted from the day's efforts. It was times like these when he missed Marianne. Her willful and bloodthirsty nature always amused him, and she was the only one of his wives that he actually had any feelings for besides apathy. He still hadn't found the bastard who was responsible, and the OSI were turning up empty handed at every turn. He had asked his brother to assist him, and the man's sympathy had left Charles with an odd feeling. He knew that V.V. hadn't overly liked Marianne, but the way Vincent reacted seemed to lack the usual disdain that he had sensed when his brother referred to his wife. While it was true that he and his brother had promised to never lie to each other, he couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong. He felt horrible for it, but he was actually starting to suspect his brother might have been involved in it. He would need to be careful, lest he tip him off of his suspicions, because V.V. had most of the OSI in his pocket. He could probably order an assassination and make it seem like it was Charles's idea. If his suspicions were correct, then it was a good thing that he hadn't sent Lelouch to Japan like he had planned. He could've been killed during the invasion without Charles even knowing about it.

The emperor opened a drawer and pulled out a small framed portrait that was sitting on top of a pile of folders. The topmost folder was filled with surveillance photos of three children laughing and playing, two pink haired girls bossing around a young black haired boy, while their attendants and older sister watched smiling in the background. 'My, how the boy has grown,' he thought sadly as he looked at the three people in the center of the picture, a mother standing happily behind her son and daughter. 'It's a shame you weren't here with me to see him Marianne. He's so much like you, you'd have been so proud.' For now, Charles just had to put his faith in Ragnarok and hope he could see Marianne again. He had gone to the world of C and attempted to find her there, but he had no luck. He would try again sometime soon, but for now he had to deal with the paperwork on his desk and the person knocking on his door. He called for them to enter as he silently replaced the picture in the drawer.

* * *

Several days after the shopping trip, Cornelia was informed that the Emperor wished to speak with her and Lelouch. The group quickly left to the palace. Everyone except Cornelia waited in a large sitting room while the Princess was meeting with the Emperor. Almost an hour later, she exited the Emperor's office with a conflicted look on her face. She told Lelouch that it was his turn to enter, but said nothing else other than that she would talk with them about it later. Lelouch steeled himself and entered the office to find his father standing and staring out a window into the large garden that was behind the office. He bowed, and then stood waiting as the man continued to stare out the window. After a minute or two of silence, the Emperor turned and motioned for Lelouch to follow him as he walked out of the rear of his office and into the private garden. Lelouch followed as Charles led him through the various turns and twists of the two meter tall hedges, until they arrived in a clearing of sorts with a fountain in the middle. The Emperor walked to the fountain and stood looking into it, before he spoke,

"It has been a while since I have last spoken to you my son. I realize that it's unheard-of for me to meet with one of my children to just talk, but I find myself rethinking a great many things these days."

Lelouch remained silent, not trusting himself to speak. He had given updates to his father when he had been asked over his time with Cornelia, which didn't surprise Lelouch as he felt it was just his father's way of keeping tabs over his offspring. But now his father seemed to actually want a real conversation between family, not simply of business or politicking.

"I understand I haven't been a good father in most ways, and I can only ask your forgiveness in that. These recent years without your mother have affected me more than I would have thought. As it stands, I wish to better get to know the only remaining child of my favorite wife. If you wouldn't mind, that is."

Lelouch was rather off balance at his father's attitude at the moment, but reluctantly began to give a more detailed account of his daily life. His father had seemed impressed that he was learning to pilot knightmares and was training with his knights, as most royals and nobles abhorred physical exertion like that, so Lelouch elaborated on his time spent training. That was followed with stories of his days with his new family. Several times Lelouch even got his father to guffaw at the antics Euphemia and Anya had roped him into. It was nearing an hour into their first father son bonding that the emperor changed the topic.

"Thank you for indulging me, my son. I can honestly say that you are one of my favorites, and I regret not getting to know you more over the years. Your mother would have loved to see how you've grown. Unfortunately, I fear that I have some business that I must bring up. I have a task for you to perform, my son."

Lelouch had enjoyed getting to know the man behind the throne, but he understood that their bonding needed to be put on hold for later. He straightened up a little and set his face into a determined look.

"You are not aware, but it wasn't my idea to put Clovis in charge of Area 11." Lelouch said nothing, but his brow rose questioningly. "Don't give me that look, did you think I micromanaged everything? There's a Prime Minister position for a reason. Schneizel was the one who had been in charge of much of the process in taking Area 11, and he convinced me that it would be a good opportunity for Clovis to become more exposed to running things as opposed to painting and socializing all day. I agreed. But now it has come to my attention that there are some things going on that I don't know about. The OSI stumbled upon large flows of finance into and out of Area 11's government, and they claim that some of the reports from the military seem too _clean_." He paused again, and seemed to go off on a tangent, "You and I both know that the publicly released story of terrorists being responsible for the deaths of Nunnally and Marianne is completely false, but I cannot be made to look vulnerable. It would be disastrous. I'll admit that the incident has caused me to become slightly paranoid, as I still haven't caught the bastard." Charles idly noted that Lelouch's fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I am fully aware that you are probably scheming for the throne just as much as the rest of them." Lelouch seemed startled, a nervous apprehension rising in him, but the Emperor just waved it off. "Oh don't look so alarmed, I'd be more worried if you weren't already plotting away, you are my son at least. The fact is that I've started to put less trust in those at court, not that I had any to begin with mind you. Someone is scheming and I can't find out whom." At this point, the Emperor turned and looked Lelouch in the eyes. "As I said before, I can honestly claim that you are one of my favorites, and you are one of the few who I know for a fact had nothing to do with the death of your mother and sister. Therefore, I trust you at least more than the rest. You are probably gunning for the throne, but I'm confident that you'll be more focused on avenging your family before you make a move against me.

Lelouch was finding it hard to control his emotions over his father's words. They seemed so contradictory to what one would expect from the world's most powerful man. Lelouch wondered if the years without his mother had really taken such a toll on the man, and at the same time he wondered just what his father's point was. It didn't take long for him to reach it.

"As Cornelia will no doubt inform you, I have recently assigned her to take the Middle Eastern Federation. The fighting there has stalemated, and I believe she and her forces will be able to make a difference. That leaves me an opportunity. While Cornelia is busy with her duties, I wish to send you to Area 11. I want you to look into Clovis's affairs for me. He will be less suspicious of his younger siblings visiting than he would be if I or another showed up. Yes, I said siblings," he said at Lelouch's look. "You will be bringing Euphemia and your attendants. If I am not mistaken, your old acquaintances the Ashfords have a school set up in the territory."

Lelouch felt like he should be surprised that the Emperor more than likely knew of his correspondence with the Ashfords, but he didn't let it show, and merely nodded.

"Very good, you will be attending. Those accompanying you will as well. Your job will be to double as student at the academy while investigating Clovis. It will make a fine excuse for you to visit old friends and spend time while your older sister is busy. I fully expect this task to take some time, so you are in no rush. Merely keep me informed when you make progress."

Lelouch nodded, and replied with, "Yes, father."

"Good, it's best you return to you sisters now. I look forward to seeing how you fare with this task. Do not disappoint me, my son."

Lelouch recognized his dismissal, and turned to leave. Before he could get too far, the Emperor spoke again.

"And Lelouch," Charles started as his son stopped and turned to face him. "Do keep in touch. I rather enjoyed our talk, and would much like to have another sometime soon." Lelouch gave a small smile at having finally gained some semblance of a father, and continued to take his leave.

As Charles watched his prodigal son's back, he couldn't help but sigh internally. 'I sense so much of myself in him, but there is an overwhelming amount of Marianne in him, too. It would not surprise me if he overtakes his elder siblings in the competition for my throne. I cannot wait to see what becomes of him in the future. Go forth, my son, for I wait and watch to see if you are the one to finally be worthy of taking my place.'

It had been the result of a rare night of indulgence on the Emperor's part. He had spent the night nursing a bottle of scotch and thinking over all his plans for the future, and realized that he had no backup in place should Ragnarok fail. The sudden death of his wife and daughter had shown the Emperor just how rapidly unforeseen circumstances can come about, so he decided to actually plan for one of his offspring to replace him. He was still going through with Ragnarok, but it never hurt to have an alternative.

* * *

 **Tokyo Settlement, Area 11**

As he lay back in the seat inside the non-descript black car, Lelouch tried to simply enjoy the peace and quiet. Anya was curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. Euphemia had snuggled up to his other side and was hugging his arm as she dozed. The car slowed to a stop, and Lelouch lightly shook the sleeping girls awake. They performed an eerily similar pair of yawns and catlike stretches, which brought home just how much the two had grown together in recent years. As the girls fixed their mussed hair, Lelouch stepped out of the car as the door was held by Jeremiah. Villetta had already arrived earlier and would be waiting with Lord Ashford in Ruben's office. Lelouch and company made their way to where Ruben's office was located.

Or at least, they would have. Lelouch face-palmed as he belatedly realized he hadn't been on campus before and had no idea where he was going. It seemed even strategic and tactical geniuses still forgot the simplest of things. As he was debating whether or not he should just walk towards the biggest building and hope he got lucky, he heard a shout from a nearby building.

"Oh Lulu! It's so good to see you again!" shouted a tall blond haired girl. If her face hadn't been familiar, the dreaded nickname certainly was. He made his way towards his old friend and said,

"Really, Milly. Can you please not call me that in public?"

"Ah, no fun Lulu," she pouted. It seemed she wasn't actually upset, because she immediately broke into a smile again. The two old friends chatted and caught up with what was going on in each other's lives since the last time they saw each other five years ago. Milly escorted the group of four into Ruben's office, where they sat down across from the old man and next to an already present Villetta. Ruben Ashford was the grandfather of Millicent Ashford, and had been the sponsor of Lelouch's mother before she became empress. After they all sat down Lelouch made introductions, pleasantries were exchanged and then they got down to business.

"Your knight has already informed me that you will be staying here for a while, and wish to enroll in the academy. My only concern is of how you will be disguising your presence as royals. While I highly doubt that your face is known enough for the majority of the populous to recognize you, there are some individuals who might," Ruben started off with.

"I understand your concerns, Lord Ashford," Lelouch calmly replied, "but you needn't worry so much about it. My face has been kept out of the media since the incident, and the likelihood of anyone making the connection between my last name and the fallen empress is so miniscule as to be overlooked. Cornelia was very adamant about keeping the media circus out of our personal lives. Rest assured that if something comes up, we will deal with it, but for now there is no need to be worried."

Ruben wasn't entirely convinced that things would go according to Lelouch's plans this time, but he put aside his concerns for now. Ruben arranged for Lelouch and his sisters (for that is what they truly considered Anya, a sister in all but blood) to take the suite connected the student council building. There would be enough bedrooms for the three and their knights to each have their own rooms, and there was a small kitchen and living room as well. Ruben made sure to mention that he had also assigned his maid, Sayoko, to take care of the building for Lelouch. Once their discussion was done, Milly dragged Anya and Euphemia off to have some 'girl time'. Euphemia seemed pleased to find another friend that looked past the royal and saw the girl underneath, or maybe it could just be that Milly was simply unconcerned with the trappings of nobility and enjoyed trampling all over formality. Euphemia was leaning towards the second option at this point. As for Anya, simply having another female friend, even if it was rather sudden, was more than enough for her.

Lelouch left them to their devices with Villetta watching over them, while he and Jeremiah went to their new residence and directed the chauffer where to deposit their baggage. At one point, Jeremiah had to run back to the car to fetch a bag that the chauffer had forgotten, leaving Lelouch alone with Sayoko. He felt that this was as good a time as any to bring up something that was on his mind. He turned to the maid and asked,

"So, what other services do you provide the Ashfords? Both Milly and Ruben are aware of how I like to be self-sufficient, and they wouldn't provide me a maid unless there was a secondary purpose." Sayoko was surprised for a second, both by his astute reasoning and his forwardness, but her face quickly reformed back into her usual calm expression, having slipped for the barest of moments.

"My full name is Sayoko Shinozaki. I am the 37th successor of the Shinozaki School. I am a kunoichi."

Lelouch raised his brow. He had a ninja for a maid? Well, color him impressed. But that begged the question, "And you'd just come right out and tell me this?" She nodded.

"I have been ordered to serve you, Goshujin-sama. Knowing the extent of my skills will allow you to better make use of me," she stated matter-of-factly. Lelouch had to admit, she was very straightforward, and he liked that immensely.

"And you'll simply trust someone you just met today with such knowledge?"

"Ruben-sama trusts you, and I have faith that Ruben-sama would not have me serve someone whom he does not approve of." Lelouch contemplated that, and then a thought came to him.

"I see. If I may ask, Sayoko, would it be possible for you to train myself my companions? While we are all capable fighters, I never turn down the chance to learn a potentially useful skill."

"I can indeed, Goshujin-sama."

"Excellent, thank you. And you don't have to call me that. Please just call me Lelouch."

"Hai, Lelouch-sama."

Shelving the matter of the ninja-maid's overly respectfulness for another time, he returned to unpacking. Eventually everyone returned home for the night, and a light dinner was had, with tea following. As they sat and sipped their tea, Lelouch arranged with Sayoko the times to fit her into their training schedule, and the teens discussed their impressions of the school and what they looked forward to doing during their stay.

* * *

Lelouch and his group smoothly transitioned into life at Ashford. Lelouch was forcibly recruited to the student council by Milly, and Anya and Euphemia quickly followed him. While Anya couldn't officially join as she was still in the junior high level of the school, she was an honorary member with the full privileges of a real member. So Lelouch, Euphie (as she was referred to by the rest of the school), and Anya became central fixtures in daily life at the academy. They became fast friends with the other members of the council, which led to Lelouch's new hobby: the start of Lelouch's chess gambling.

Rivalz, a fellow member of the student council, worked as a bartender at a place that catered to nobility. He had introduced Lelouch to the underground gambling scene, and Lelouch soon found himself enjoying crushing the pompous fools. Jeremiah and Villetta had been worried at first, not of him losing, but of him being recognized. Lelouch soothed their fears with the same arguments he gave Ruben, and their protests eventually died down.

Their worries placated, Lelouch was free to gamble away his opponents' fortunes. Rivalz got a cut for setting up the matches, and he and Anya went together to the locations. In her mind, not only did she it as her job as his retainer, which she still jokingly clung to at times even though he treated like a sister and not a servant, it was also great bonding time for the two. They rode an onyx black electric motorcycle that Lelouch had bought off the record- he liked being untraceable. The flush to Anya's face as she held onto Lelouch from behind when they rode wasn't just from the rush of riding the motorcycle.

They were the majority of the way through the year when Lelouch started to notice that he was getting a little too much unwanted attention, particularly from the female student body population. He realized that he himself was to blame, because he was stoic and fairly emotionless towards most of the school's population, earning him the nickname 'Ice Prince', while at the same time he was very playful with his close friends in the student council, often teasing back at Milly and laughing about something with Rivalz.

Around this time, one Shirley Fenette's personality started to loosen up more. She had been an open and friendly girl, but her blossoming crush on Lelouch had made her shy and awkward around him. She had seen him and Anya on the way back from gambling one day, and had watched as he defused a situation over a car accident. He didn't draw any attention to himself or make a scene in any way, and it led Shirley to want to know more about what made him tick. He could be so aloof at times, but then seemed so approachable and friendly during others. She idly realized that she was beginning to get a crush on him. At first, she would always blush and gain a stutter when teased by Milly or Lelouch, but over time the playfulness became normal, and she found that she enjoyed it a little.

Lelouch remained a central fixture in his small group of friends, his cheerful attitude almost infectious to those in the student council room.

When they weren't enjoying the simple and refreshing life of being normal high schoolers, Lelouch and company paid visits to their half-brother Clovis. Jeremiah and Villetta made sure to be discreet when they escorted the three between the Viceroy's palace and Ashford, and the three made the trip there every other weekend. Clovis was ecstatic to spend time with his younger siblings, and there was no end to his showing off and showcasing his skills at painting.

Meanwhile, Lelouch didn't waste his time inside the effective central control of the local government. He poked his nose into as many places as he could without being noticed or caught, and he even managed to place several surveillance bugs in the building and upload a virus into the mainframe through a remote terminal. He needed to work slowly, as he couldn't risk exposure or someone catching on to his activities, so he didn't learn much from his espionage. Over the course of a year, the only true piece of intel he gained was about something called A.S.E.E.C. It was some research team funded by his brother Schneizel, but he didn't see anything that could be close to what he was looking for.

Despite the disappointing lack of progress on his main task, Lelouch had kept busy with his Lamperouge Industrial Corporation. The LIC had expanded both its R&D and manufacturing abilities, and Lelouch moved the core of the company to Area 11. A chance discovery of the vast underground tunnel network underneath Ashford had sparked an idea in Lelouch's mind. He moved the headquarters of LIC to a small complex near Ashford, and their main offices looked nothing out of the ordinary for a knightmare research and manufacturing company. But as soon as you took the elevator to the underground levels, which required highly restricted access and was guarded by several discrete security checkpoints, the scene changed. Lelouch had invested heavily in mining and electronics companies with the profits from the sale of the Sutherland designs, and he now had a steady supply of materials to start making his own knightmares. He surprised Anya and Euphemia one day by bringing them down to tour the factory. He held no worries about Anya spilling his secret, and it didn't take much to convince Euphemia to keep it as well. She had a soft spot for her brother after all, and she felt a little giddy at the thought of keeping a secret form Cornelia. The tour had been amusing, as he had originally made it look like a simple shopping trip for the girls, until they were on the way home and he instructed Jeremiah to take a detour to the company complex.

The black car pulled up outside of a large but simple looking warehouse. On the books, this was listed as a logistics hub for LIC, but to those in the know, it was much more. Lelouch led his group into the building, being checked by the security. He had made it _very_ clear that they were to treat his presence as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, a routine operations observation, lest suspicions be raised and questions asked. He made his way to the back offices, his companions following with their eyes looking about, and entered one labeled _L. Lamperouge_. He went to a file cabinet and retrieved a folder, then locked the cabinet and the room back up. The group was then led by Lelouch to the elevators near the restrooms, and they entered the furthest one on the left. Lelouch pressed a combination of the buttons on the elevator, and it started descending. Lelouch glanced over the contents of the folder. Inside were images and specs for his sister Cornelia's gunblade. Her favorite weapon was in the form of a one-handed sword, with a long musket barrel that spanned the length of the blade and a revolver base as part of the handle. He had recently been given a new idea that incorporated the design aspects of his sister's trademark weapon, but in a way that better fit his style.

He finished going over the designs as the doors opened into a long hallway, with doors and smaller hallways leading off at various points. He led them straight down the hallway to the door on the end. While he knew exactly what he was doing, Anya and Euphemia had been curious as to their purpose here. The first thing that raised their suspicions was the subtle security that was everywhere. While the outward appearance was of standard security measures, both girls had caught signs of certain workers staying nearby certain crates and tables, as if they were trying to remain within reach of something. And then the trick with the elevator, and again when they seemed to continue descending even after they were sure they had passed the lowest floor. The girls exchanged a look, and they were about to decide who would ask what was so special about this place when Lelouch opened the door at the end and walked in. Anya stepped in after him and was immediately rooted to the spot, causing Euphemia to bump into her. When she managed to maneuver around the suddenly statue-like girl, she also found herself speechless and rooted to the spot.

The room was one massive chamber, and seemed to be at least two stories tall. Large shapes stood in gantries all around the edge of the room, with machines and workers swarming around like bees. Hanging from the ceiling were large cranes and armatures, suspended on mobile ceiling-mounted platforms, transporting materials between the various locations in the chamber and down other passageways that branched off. Desks and workstations stood neatly lined in rows down the center of the room, with a large aisle easily as big as a street on either side. One large form moved at the girls' peripherals, and they watched as one of the shapes at the walls extricated itself from the surrounding machines, and then rolled itself down the large pathway into another room. It was then they realized that they were knightmares. They were standing inside of a massive, secret underground knightmare factory. And it was obvious that it was only Lelouch who could be responsible for it. Anya snapped back to her senses and noticed that Lelouch was standing several meters away from them, looking back with a triumphant smile on his face. She blushed and grabbed Euphemia's hand, breaking her out of her own shocked stupor, and she dragged the girl along as they caught up to him. He gave a chuckle, then led them to the desks in the center.

Lelouch held a small discussion with an engineer over the contents of the folder he had brought. He drew a few things and showed the man a few pictures, and then walked back towards the girls, smiling and leaving the grinning scientist poring over design blueprints. Euphemia could barely believe what she was seeing, and had only one question that her mind could form at the moment.

"How?" she asked in barely more than a whisper.

"It's easy," he replied, "to secretly develop and build things in a secret location, if you build said secret location off the books with your own construction company and hide the resources you used by silently transferring them off the books from your own mining company. Vertical integration is a wondrous tool when used properly." He grinned as the girls still seemed in awe at what was around them. "So girls," he started, breaking them out of their trances. They had been staring at the knightmare assembly gantries as their stations disgorged more frames, only to be filled by new parts coming in by way of the overhead transportation arms. "What do you think? Impressive, no?" The poor girls could only nod their heads, eyes bugging out at the sheer amount of firepower being assembled in front of them. "I call my new frame the Aberdeen. It's a combination of the speed of the Glasgow and the strength of the Sutherland. Its armor is half composite ceramic and plastic, half metal alloy. It retains its integrity while lightening the weight." Anya was looking at him like he had just walked into the room with the biggest Christmas present in the world, while Euphemia was looking eager to get closer to the giant machines. "Would you like to try one?" he asked, grinning as he motioned to the side to show an underground arena big enough for a small battle.

He was answered by a squealed 'Yes!' and a bone crushing hug.

* * *

His first year at Ashford had flown by, and Lelouch was feeling content with what he had accomplished so far. While his task from his father was still unfulfilled, he had said that it would take some time, and that he was in no rush. On the side of LIC, things were progressing better than could be expected. His R&D teams were doing well. His Aberdeen KMFs met his expectations, and he was slowly stockpiling them in droves. While some would be for his own use in the future, he planned to give most to Cornelia as a present for her forces. It was at the same time both an early birthday present and a genius way to bring her under his banner. He wasn't naïve enough to miss his father hinting about him making a play for the throne, and it didn't hurt to bring his elder sister to his side early on. Manipulative? Yes, but both parties benefitted, and from what he knew of Cornelia's personality she didn't really desire the throne anyway, simply the protection and happiness of her favorite siblings. Along with knightmares, he was producing his own arms and munitions. Rather than smuggle weapons from the black market, it was so much easier to stockpile them if you just made them yourself. Of course, that required secret facilities and off the books access to resources, which he had in droves. The only thing he had trouble acquiring was sakuradite, as Britannia kept a very watchful eye on its production. He had managed to secure a few small deposits for himself, but for the most part he had to make due with slowly siphoning and smuggling it through his mining companies.

Finishing his weekly review of his investments and current projects, he was about to put the files away when he heard the doorbell chime. Knowing that Sayoko was busy making dinner, Euphemia was currently curled up reading a book, and that Anya was taking a nap in her room, he knew that he had to get the door. He made his way to the front door, and when he opened it, it revealed a grey dress and long green hair.

"Hello again."


	3. Prologue, Turn 3

Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass, wish I did.

* * *

 **Slipping the Bonds of Yesterday – Prologue, Turn 3**

 **Tokyo Settlement, Area 11 – 2016 a.t.b.**

"Hello again," said the voice that Lelouch remembered hearing once before. It brought back memories of a cloud filled sky and a rain soaked cemetery. Despite it having been over five years since he last saw her, she didn't look like she'd aged a day.

"Why hello," he echoed. "It appears you have me at a disadvantage yet again. I'd invite you inside, but I don't let people in whose names I don't know." He gave her a small smirk, knowing that he had her. She was here for him, and they both knew it. He saw no risk of her being put off or pushed away, as she was the one who had approached him, and his memories reminded him she had a playful nature of her own if the way she had left after their first meeting was any indication.

"C.C.," the green haired girl stated simply. "My name is C.C."

"Well then Miss C.C., come on in. We were just about to have dinner, would you like to join us?"

"Is it pizza?" she asked with a hopeful glint in her eye.

"No, it's lasagna." Her face fell slightly at this. He thought for a second, then said, "But if you think about it, lasagna is kinda like pizza, just in a different form. It's got tomato sauce and cheese, and the pasta itself is like the dough. There's meat sauce instead of sausage or pepperoni. Are you sure you don't want some?"

C.C.'s brows quirked. She thought about what he said, and determined that his statement did hold some bit of truth. She sighed, wanting desperately to hold out for her beloved pizza, but she was hungry. Resigning herself to try what she tried to think of as 'pizza pasta', she accepted and followed him into the dining room. Lelouch entered the kitchen to move the meal to the table while Sayoko went to wake Anya and inform Euphemia that dinner was ready. Jeremiah and Villetta wouldn't be joining them tonight, as they had the night off and were currently at a bar downtown. Within minutes the five were settled around the table, heartily digging in to the lasagna. C.C. had to admit that while it wasn't nearly as good as pizza, she did enjoy the lasagna.

"So," Anya said, deciding to break the silence and broach the topic of their guest. "Who might our guest be?"

"Ah, yes," Lelouch answered quickly, "I forgot to make introductions. Anya, Euphemia, Sayoko, this is C.C., she was a friend of my mother's. C.C., this is Anya, Euphemia, and Sayoko" he said as he indicated each of them in turn. "Anya is like a sister to me in all but blood, Euphemia is my half-sister, and Sayoko is our close friend and maid." Sayoko looked at Lelouch when he said this, as she hadn't been expecting to ever be referred to as a friend by him. She was their maid and trained them in the shinobi arts on the side, but hearing him call her a friend unexpectedly brought a small warmth to her heart.

"Nice to meet you C.C.," Anya said with a smile. Euphemia said nothing but smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Sayoko quickly recovered.

"Likewise, and thank you for the meal," was chirped by C.C. She then turned to Lelouch, and said, "Would you now like to get to the business of why I'm here?"

"Please," he answered, indicating that she follow him. He nodded and gave a small smile as the girls began to collect the dishes. He would normally join them, but they understood that he had something to take care of, and that he'd make it up to them later.. Lelouch left the room, followed closely by C.C., and led her to a private study down the hall. Lelouch leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his demeanor shifting to his business mode within an instant.

"Now, when we met previously, you mentioned two things: information about my mother's murder, and some sort of power. Please tell me everything you know."

C.C. didn't seem intimidated by his change of attitude, and she merely showed a small grin. "It would be easiest to do in reverse order. First, I will offer you the power I mentioned. I offer it to you in the form of a contract. In exchange for granting you this power, you must fulfill one wish of mine. The Power of the King will isolate you, and it will make you lonely. You will live as a man, but different. Live among men, but apart. A different time, a different life. Will you accept this contract?"

Lelouch was skeptical at first, this so called 'power' sounded somewhat like a joke. But he could tell by the seriousness in her gaze that what she said was true, to some extent or other. He started an internal debate on whether to accept or not, when one thought ceased his chaotic thinking altogether. 'Wing it', he thought. Why not? If the power was fake, nothing lost. If she didn't hold up her end of this 'contract', the he needn't hold up his. He wouldn't lose anything if it didn't work out. Coming to his decision, he nodded.

C.C. walked toward him and stretched out her hand, lightly touching his cheek. His sight blurred, as his mind watched visions of a cloudy expanse and a stone ruin being overlooked by a large planet, and then his sight snapped back to normal. He felt a pleasing sensation behind his left eye, and he somehow had knowledge that he had never had before. He flexed his new mental muscle, the feeling foreign yet oddly familiar, comforting even.

"Geass," he whispered, to which C.C. nodded.

"Can you tell what your power is? The way it manifests is different for every individual." Lelouch noted that what she said likely meant that there were others with this power, most likely even others who could bestow it. He delved into his new knowledge, looking for details of his new power. He absently hoped he would find some sort of instruction manual, but felt that was probably just wishful thinking.

"I can't really tell much, but I can tell that when I activate it, I feel this infallible confidence that people will listen and do as I say." C.C.'s face looked slightly impressed.

"Absolute Obedience, the ability to command anyone to do anything. Very useful, but not without its own limitations."

"Yes, I'll need to experiment and see what I can do with it. I can already see several potential uses." After he said this, he felt a presence at the door. The training that Sayoko had put him through had helped hone his senses, and while he wasn't anything near a master of the sixth sense like she was, he could sometimes tell if someone was nearby watching or listening. He turned to the door and said, "Anya, feel free to join us."

The door opened to reveal a sheepish form, her pink hair hiding her face. She shuffled into the room and closed the door behind her.

"You heard all that?" Lelouch asked, his tone indecipherable. His question was met with a nod. "Good, then I don't need to repeat any of it to you. Do you have any questions?" Anya looked relieved to not be in any trouble, and quickly shook her head. "Okay then. Anya, would you mind helping me test this new power? I promise you I won't-" but he was cut off by the girl.

"I'll help. I trust you. I am your retainer to do with as you wish, after all," she said with traces of something in her voice. Lelouch couldn't tell if the weird emotion he was hearing had to do with being his retainer, his pseudo-sister, or something else. He catalogued that to be dealt with later, and then turned his attention back to Anya.

"Thank you, Anya. Now, I am about to give you an order. I want you to refuse to follow it, understand?" He was met with a nod. He flared his Geass and said, _"I command you to sit down on the ground right where you are standing, and then stand back up."_ He watched as Anya's eyes gained a faint red glow around the edges while her posture relaxed. She then sat down where she stood and crossed her legs in front of her. After a second, she stood back up, and the red rings disappeared. She stood there looking at him, and when he said nothing she said, "Aren't you gonna tell me to do something?"

"You don't remember me telling you to sit down just a second ago?" She shook her head and then raised her eyebrow, asking him to explain. His mind quickly worked through the possibilities. "It seems that you don't remember the time during which you are Geassed. Let me try again. When I command you, refuse to follow it." He was met with another nod. _"Sit back down again."_

"No," Anya spoke.

"Hmm, it seems as if I can only use it on you once. I will need to experiment further in the near future, in order to determine any other limitations."

"Why don't you try it on her?" Anya asked as she pointed to C.C. The green haired girl was about to respond when Lelouch beat her to it.

"Simple, it most likely wouldn't work, correct?" he stated as he turned towards her. She looked a tad surprised that he came to that conclusion, and Lelouch could tell the both of them wanted him to explain the reasoning for his guess. "It's quite obvious really. The first rule of any arms dealer is to never sell someone a weapon unless you are prepared for it to be used against you. It only makes sense, therefore, for the person who can grant supernatural powers to be immune to them. Otherwise they would never give power to someone who could use it on them."

"I see," spoke Anya with a nod.

Lelouch turned to C.C. "You said power first, then information. Could you now please tell me everything you can about both this power and my mother's death?"

"No," was her response, said flatly and with no emotion.

"No?" he echoed, confused as to her logic. He was having trouble telling if she actually wanted to help him or not. "And why not?"

"Because I don't want to," she stated, crossing her arms and turning away. "I will tell you later when you need to know. As of yet, you are still not strong enough to deal with them, even with the new power I have granted you."

Her reasoning itself gave him another clue to the puzzle. The culprit must be involved with Geass, either a contractor or contractee. That made things immensely more complicated, and would require him to plan several times as many contingencies. As for her cooperation, he had an inkling of an plan, more of a bribe really. The biggest thing about her two of the three times he had interacted with her had been her desire for pizza. It was possible that he could exploit that.

"My dear C.C., how about we form a secondary contract between you and I?"

She looked at him curiously. "And what do you propose?"

"Nothing major, really. Just that as long as you cooperate fully with me and tell me everything I wish to know, I will provide you with the funds to order as much pizza as you can eat, and I promise to invest in a Pizza Hut chain and have one built near Ashford so that you have ready access to it." He finished his offer, and then looked at her to gauge her response. What he saw made him grin widely.

C.C. had undisguised longing in her eyes. Her mouth was slightly open, and a trail of drool was slowly leaking out. She realized what she was doing and snapped out of her trance. "Done," she said instantly.

"Perfect. In that case, I shall order some pizza and while we wait for it to get here you can tell me everything you know about Geass and my mother and sisters's death."

* * *

It turned out that C.C. knew a lot about both. Lelouch hadn't expected to be listening for three hours. He had needed to order more pizza, and Anya decided to go off to bed halfway through.

After she was finished talking, Lelouch leaned back in his chair while his mind was whirring, trying to deal with everything he had learned. The possibility of a runway Geass was disturbing, but it was easily dealt with. He requested that C.C. get him several sets of Geass-blocking contacts, and he also planned to have the visors of his soldiers' helmets remade with the same material. C.C. being immortal was interesting, but minor. The existence of the mind-reader named Mao could be troublesome if he interfered, but he couldn't deal with that until if or when he surfaced. But by far the most upsetting was the fact that both his parents had Geass, and they were apparently trying to, in their words, kill God. While it was upsetting to learn that your parents were trying to destroy the world as you knew it and wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice you to do so, it didn't mean he was any less upset about his family's deaths. She was his mom after all, heartless and insane though she may have been, and his sister Nunnally had been caught in the crossfire. He had slowly come to accept their deaths, keeping their memories in his heart as he moved on with life. He no longer burned with the desire for revenge like he once did, but he wouldn't pass up the opportunity. Learning that his immortal uncle V.V. was responsible and also in on the Sword of Akasha plan was troubling. And the existence of the Geass Order, an entire secret society run by Geass users and those who grant them? Yeah, that could be an issue. He would have to think on everything he had just learned, but for now he needed to get some sleep. He could return to his plotting and planning tomorrow. Another thought suddenly jumped into his head, and he decided to broach the subject.

"So C.C., what do you plan on doing during the day? There's not a lot to do around here, but I'd rather you stay close to home, as it were. You'll most likely be bored if you plan on sleeping and eating pizza all day." When she had no response to that, he continued, "What would you say to enrolling here at Ashford? You look the right age, and it will keep you from getting bored. You don't even have to attend class all the time, you can skip as often as you like as long as you don't make too much commotion, I do it all the time. Plus, it'll give you a story for sticking close to me and being around often."

She contemplated this, going through several slices while she thought. She nodded at last.

"Perfect, now all we need is a name for you to go by. Any preferences?"

She thought for another moment. "Cera Celeste. And before you ask, no, it's not my real name." Lelouch gave a small pout at that, but said nothing. He would talk to Ruben the next day and get everything set up. C.C. finished her pizza and Lelouch cleaned up and threw away the empty boxes. He showed C.C. to the guest room, and then returned to his own. He stepped into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face, and then stripped off his clothes and put on a pair of black shorts. When he was about to climb into bed, he noticed a sizable mound under the covers and green hair on the pillow.

"What are you doing?" he asked. His tone was somewhere between curiosity and exasperation.

"Sleeping. What else does it look like I'm doing?"

"I meant, what are you doing _in my bed_. I showed you the guest room, so why are you in here?"

"Because. And I'm not leaving no matter what you say, so deal with it. Besides, a real gentleman sleeps on the floor. Goodnight," she chirped as she rolled over to face away from him. He gave an amused smile and then crawled into his bed next to her. "W-what are you doing!?" She squeaked, obviously not having expected him to climb in next to her. Her reaction made him start to think that maybe she wasn't as much of an ice queen as she tried to portray herself as.

"Sleeping. What else does it look like I'm doing?" he chimed in an echo of her earlier words. He could tell she was flustered now.

"I'm quite sure that I said-"

"A real gentleman sleeps on the floor, yes you did. But unfortunately for you, it appears I am not a real gentleman. Goodnight," he said with a smile, enjoying having turned the tables on her. He smirked as she gave a 'hmph' and turned away. He couldn't help but be amused at his situation as he went to sleep, all the while plotting the things he could do with his new power.

* * *

Lelouch chuckled as he finished up his shower. He was still smiling about what had happened when he woke up.

He had slowly risen from his slumber, only to find himself faced with two sensations he had not been expecting. The first was a tickling sensation under his nose. When he breathed in, he was rewarded with the faint scent of vanilla and cloves. Then there was the weight against his right side and chest. He moved his right arm, curling it up around the warm object. He could tell it was soft, and it gave a small purr when he moved his hand along it. 'Wait,' he thought, 'Not only do I not own a cat, but that's much too big to be a cat, unless it's a lion or something, which I highly doubt.' He tentatively opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of a green haired immortal draped over him. Her head rested on his chest, and she lay curled into his right side, his hand stroking her back. He realized that he would probably pay dearly when she woke up.

And he did. When she woke, she groggily stretched out, before returning to her previous position. It took a minute, but she eventually realized her situation and let out a high-pitched 'eeeep!' while shoving him off the bed. He was laughing the moment he hit the floor, while C.C. was blushing and holding the sheet around her. When she started to get angry at him for taking advantage of her, he reminded her that he had been in the same position that he had gone to sleep in, while _she_ was the one who had curled up around _him_. She grumbled something derogatory about men, drawing another laugh from Lelouch. She demanded pizza in compensation for the humiliation. He chuckled the entire time as he removed his credit card from his wallet and gave it to her with his cell-phone. He retreated to the bathroom when she started throwing his pillows at him.

Now having showered and dressed, Lelouch looked at the still pouting C.C. as she sat with three cheese pizzas on his bed. She stuck her tongue at him as he walked out of his room. After a quick breakfast and a word to Sayoko to explain that their guest would be staying a while, to which she gave him a knowing smile, he headed off to class. He got Cera Celeste registered that afternoon as a favor from Ruben. Considering everything Lelouch had done for him, it was s mall thing in comaparison.

The next month went by quickly. C.C. fit right in with the Student Council, instantly finding a kindred soul in Milly, which rightfully frightened everyone. Shirley was now on the receiving end of twice as much teasing and untoward attention from the combined front of Milly and C.C. It was a good thing that she had been slowly acclimating to the teasing before now, otherwise Lelouch was sure she'd be a blushing puddle on the ground at this point. Lelouch managed to evade the majority of C.C.'s teasing by holding her pizza access over her head. They still shared the same bed, but had yet to do anything. C.C. had grown used to her new body pillow, and Lelouch couldn't say that he truly minded.

He had also spent the month testing the limitations of his Geass. He had determined that it required eye contact, but could be redirected with a mirror and still work. His range was limited to a little over two hundred meters, but the target had to also be able to hear his command. If he made eye contact but they didn't hear him, nothing happened. Likewise with hearing but no eye contact. Long term commands stayed effective indefinitely, and triggered or multi-staged commands worked as long as he worded it properly. He made sure to add careful operating and termination conditions, lest his orders accidently go awry and cause unexpected issues. He was also surprised to learn that those he Geassed had a subconscious ability to detect others under his Geass. On a whim he told a girl to, for a day only, say hi only to those under his Geass. Imagine his surprise when it worked. That little tidbit had unlimited possibilities for making entire cells of sleeper agents, ones who would recognize each other and could work together. There was one command he still was waiting to test, but hadn't found a good subject yet. The most important fact about his Geass was that he hadn't revealed it to anyone else yet. He planned to definitely tell his knights and maybe Sayoko, but he would definitely keep it secret from Euphemia and Cornelia, and especially the Emperor when they next spoke. Even more so since his father apparently also had Geass. He would need to look into anti-Geass countermeasures.

Lelouch closed the small notebook holding the details of his testing. He then replaced it inside the hidden drawer in the side of the nearby bookshelf. He was currently reclining in his black leather swivel chair in front of a massive computer array, located inside his spiffy super-secret-clubhouse deep underneath Ashford. He had found the room while renovating the tunnels and construction lifts under the school's infrastructure. He decided to turn it into a combination security observation room and secret base. He had a massive king-sized bed and miniature kitchen, and the computer array was home to his newly redone chess program. The current file was _CDT2016_ , and looked almost nothing like chess. The zoomed out screen showed a map of the world, with each major country or territory marked and outlined. The territory was filled in with the color of the faction in control of it. There was a pie chart above each territory, showing the relative concentration of each factions forces in that area. Selecting and zooming in on a territory would show a map of the country with various chess pieces on it.

Over half the world was colored white, with the majority of their territory having a mass of white or grey pawns. Europe was colored blue, with their forces in the Middle East and Africa. North Africa currently showed the blue pawns facing off against purple forces, led by a purple queen. China was green, with most of mainland Asia covered with green pawns. Pendragon showed several clear glass knights and a glass king, with the white king sitting nearby. Japan was covered in grey pawns, with one or two black pawns hiding within. Of note was the black king, sitting in the center of Tokyo, flanked by two black knights and one queen, which was black with a grey stripe. Two pink bishops stood behind the king, guarded by the knights.

Lelouch saved the current setup, then put the computer into sleep mode. He made his way back to his room in the Clubhouse, unaware that the next day would begin the change of everything.


	4. Book 1, Turn 1

Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass, wish I did.

* * *

 **Slipping the Bonds of Yesterday – Book 1, Turn 1**

 **Tokyo Settlement, Area 11 – 2016 a.t.b.**

"Checkmate," Lelouch said, as the noble across from him paled and started sputtering. As he collected his winnings, he and Anya left the man staring mutely at the board. Lelouch paid the parking fee and retrieved their motorcycle while Anya transferred the small briefcase with the money into her backpack, leaving her arms free to wrap around Lelouch's waist when she got on behind him. They didn't talk as they slowly pulled away from the curb, while overhead the news screens showed the Viceroy as he gave a predicable speech denouncing the heartless Eleven terrorists. The two rode in silence, not needing conversation and content just to be together.

While he drove, Lelouch idly wondered if Euphemia and Milly were having fun planning Milly's next school party. He slightly regretted adding Euphemia and C.C. to Milly's list of conspirators, as the parties had been even more over the top since they'd arrived. He was broken out of his reverie when a large truck came speeding up behind them. Lelouch didn't have much time to react, swerving to the right to avoid being hit. As he swerved right and the truck swerved left into a construction site, their bike hit a pothole and threw them off. Without thinking, Lelouch grabbed Anya and pulled her to him, wrapping himself around her. He took the brunt of the impact as they slammed into the ground, his helmeted head bouncing off the pavement. They slid for several meters before they came to a stop. Anya quickly scrambled out of Lelouch's hold, whisking off her helmet and gingerly removing Lelouch's. He grunted out at the throbbing he felt. It was widespread but mild, and he could tell he hadn't taken any major damage. His school uniform was shredded from the slide, exposing the black underclothes he wore, which remained untorn during the skid.

"Lelouch, are you alright?" Anya asked franticly. She had been on top thanks to Lelouch, and hadn't taken any damage from the landing or slide.

"I'm good, I'm good. The wonders of Kevlar," he said, indicating his black underclothes. He'd convinced the members of his little group to wear Kevlar under-armor when they went out and about. Originally, it was just for himself and his knights, but Cornelia had approved when he mentioned it one day over the phone, and Euphemia and Anya soon followed suit. He was suddenly quite thankful that he'd been doing research into body armor after so effectively proving its usefulness.

Lelouch looked over to where he last saw the truck heading. He spotted the truck rammed into a pillar in the nearby construction site. He then glanced at his bike, the state of which was summed up in one word.

Totaled.

He groaned out, "Our ride's wrecked. We might as well go check on the other guys."

"Are you sure?" Anya asked. "I say we just leave 'em. They almost hit us and I don't feel like being nice to them at the moment." Lelouch looked at her and raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that said 'Are you really being so petty?'. She gave a muffled 'hmph' and apout, but eventually sighed and followed as he led the way to the truck. As they walked over, Lelouch fished out his phone and found that it was crushed from the impact. It looked like there was no calling for Jerry to give them a ride at the moment. When they made it to the truck, Lelouch jogged around to the driver's side.

"Hey! Hello? You okay in there?" Lelouch called as he tried to open the driver's door. Unfortunately, the debris was preventing it from opening.

"Lelouch! There's an open hatch back here," called Anya.

The two of them climbed up on top of the truck. Lelouch was peering in when the truck suddenly backed up, causing him to lose his balance and fall in. Anya tried to grab him and pull him up, but his momentum pulled her down with him. The two landed with a thud, as the truck took off and drove deeper into the ghetto.

They got up and looked around. The inside of the truck was pretty bare. There was a large shape sitting in the back, and next to where they stood was a large purple sphere. They also noticed that there was no ladder on the inside.

 _-"Pull over and surrender, filthy Elevens!"-_ was heard through the walls of the truck's hold, as they heard whirring high overhead. Faint pinging noises sounded against the back doors of the truck.

Lelouch looked at Anya. "Tell me, does that sound like the military to you?" She nodded. "Damn, I was hoping it was just me. I do believe we've fallen into a terrorist's truck." He didn't get the chance to say more, as a door connecting to the cab opened. Lelouch and Anya ducked behind the large sphere, both pulling out weapons.

Lelouch had paid a visit to his R&D team last week, and his gunsmith had finished up their new toys from the specifications Lelouch had given him. The ideas came from him looking at his sister's gunblade. Lelouch had a pair of black 9mm pistols, with a metal blade curving from the front of the barrel down to the bottom of the grip. The blade was similar in nature to the katar, which Lelouch had managed to get Sayoko to train him to use. Anya held a pair of tanto gunblades. They were Japanese short swords with built-in revolvers. The blades were approximately one foot in length, with a pair of revolvers in the handles. A long barrel ran up the back of each blade. The two of them had trained with these weapons, but hadn't had them for long enough to truly use them.

They kept their weapons ready as a Japanese girl with red hair walked past, talking to someone on a handheld radio. Lelouch thought she looked vaguely familiar, and he admitted to himself that she looked good in combat fatigues, not many women could pull that off as well as she was right now. He watched as she left the radio in a pocket of a jacket, which she hung on the wall nearby, before she boarded a red knightmare and leapt from the back of the truck. Lelouch signaled Anya to grab the radio while he examined the capsule next to him.

At first glance, it looked like it could hold gas of some kind, most likely poison or nerve gas. But when he looked closer, he couldn't see any sort of pump or motor. It reminded him more of the capsules you got from toy vending machines, the small plastic ones that held a figurine inside. He was about to try the attached keyboard when the truck crashed again.

After standing back up, Anya went to the side door and pulled it open, and she stuck her head out to look around. Lelouch turned back around to deal with the capsule when a shadowed form leapt out of the darkness at his back. Anya quickly stepped up behind Lelouch and blocked the flying kick, and then grabbed the offending limb, twisting and pulling it to drag the attacker to the ground. She jumped on his back and pinned him, pressing her sword against his back.

"Surrender and stop this senseless killing!" he shouted, but the intimidating effect was lost as they heard the quaver in his voice from having a sword at his back.

Lelouch noticed the military uniform he wore, and switched into his Princely voice. He rarely used it, but he had paid attention to the way Cornelia talked when ordering others around, and he was able to convey a good amount of authority when he tried. "Name, rank, and unit soldier!"

The boy didn't really have time to think, and his subconscious quickly answered the authority it perceived. "Private Suzaku Kururugi, 122nd Honorary Brigade, sir!"

Lelouch nodded to Anya, then turned back to the capsule.

"We're not with the terrorists, Private Kururugi. What do you know of the capsule?" Anya asked as she let the boy up.

"We were told that the terrorists had stolen a container of poison gas," he answered. Lelouch laughed at that.

"Well then you were lied to Private, there's no way this is gas. There's no pump, no motor. It's more like a holding container than a gas capsule." As he said that, he managed to get the container opened. A cloud of white smoke was released. Suzaku tried to rush forward to put his gas mask over Lelouch's face, but Lelouch motioned him to stop. As the smoke cleared, a figure could be seen toppling over out of the container. Lelouch stepped forward and caught the girl as she fell. She had long black hair, and her skin tone was the same as that of a Japanese person's. Lelouch guessed her to be no more than eighteen years old. Her frame was thin but not frail, and her unblemished face look relaxed as she lay unconscious. Lelouch started undoing the straps keeping her tied up as Anya whirled towards the direction of incoming footsteps.

"You filthy Eleven! Not even true Britannians are allowed to open that!" shouted a man. He was wearing an officer's uniform, and flanking him were several members of Clovis's royal guard. They raised their weapons and pointed them at the trio beside the truck.

"But sir!" shouted Suzaku. "They're not with the terrorists, and it's not poison gas!"

"Silence! I'll give you one chance to redeem yourself. Take this weapon and kill the two terrorists," he said as he tossed a pistol to the boy.

Lelouch looked at the soldier. The naïve fool was about to refuse, and they'd all get shot either way. Lelouch motioned to Anya to incapacitate Suzaku, and she reached up and punched the back of his head. As soon as the private was knocked out, Lelouch stood and looked at the royal guardsmen. He had one command he had yet to try out, and now was as good a time as ever. He flared his Geass, and shouted, _"Obey!"_ The crane sigil soared into their eyes, and Lelouch fell to a knee as he felt a sharp pain behind his eye. He clutched the left side of his head as he thought, 'Okay, note to self. Either don't do so many at once, or use a simpler command.' He resolved to see what the limit of people he could Geass at once was, as he had neglected to add that to his list of things to test. He looked up to see the soldiers standing at attention and staring blankly ahead. He deliberated a second over what orders to give.

"You," he said, looking at the officer. "Call in two knightmares to this location, then come stand over here. You," he pointed to another soldier and then indicated the unconscious Suzaku, "take this man and see that he receives medical attention. You will then find a location away from other people and kill yourself." He turned to the rest of the soldiers as the man followed his instructions. "The rest of you, kill yourselves." As they complied, he turned to the officer and had him tell them everything important about the girl from the capsule and the current status of the area.

By the time the knightmares had shown up, Lelouch was informed that she was the subject of the Code-R super soldier project, trying to create immortal soldiers. General Bartley Asprius was in charge of the research team and Clovis was in control of the project. 'Looks like we found what dad wanted us to look for,' he thought. Then it occurred to him that he referred to the man as 'dad', and he pondered over that. He was now also acutely aware that Clovis was attempting to liquidate the ghetto, and had sealed of all access to Shinjuku. Lelouch reasoned that he would need to make his own exit.

He and Anya boarded the knightmares, leaving the newly Geassed pilots to kill themselves, while the head guard was sent to await Lelouch at the G-1 that Clovis was using. Lelouch had the black haired girl lying across him as he piloted the Sutherland out of the subway tunnel.

"Lelouch," Anya said over the secure communications, "Why'd you make them shoot themselves?"

"Because Anya, mindless slaves are highly inefficient. Geassing and enslaving regular soldiers gives a negligible return on investment. If I commanded them to act as normal as possible but still obey me, I'd have to set ground rules and other parameters, lest someone discover that I'd enslaved them. For individuals of importance, the time it takes to calibrate the Geass control is worth it. Take General Bartley, for example. If I manage to Geass him, I could potentially take over control of the entire Code-R project. Geass enslavement is for either large masses or individuals, but anywhere in between and it loses efficiency. Normally I wouldn't be so quick to remove them from the equation, but it was them or us. I'm sure I could have eventually found another method, but we're pressed for time and I really don't like leaving loose ends." He finished this last bit just as the girl groggily woke up. "Ah, and it seems our new friend is awake. So what's your name?"

The girl was hesitant at first, having woken up laying across a man she didn't know, but seeing as she wasn't bound inside a container or being tortured, she decided that she could at least be thankful to him for freeing her. "My name is R.R.," she said.

Lelouch's mind suddenly took off, fitting together previously separate pieces of information. Code-R, immortality project. R.R., name of only two initials, like V.V. and C.C. He turned to her and said,

"You're a Code bearer, aren't you?" When she gasped in shock at him knowing or somehow figuring out what she was, he grinned. "So, my new friend R.R., if I asked you if you wanted to form a contract, what would you wish for in return?"

It took her a minute to calm down after the surprise he just sprung on her, which Lelouch used to save a beaten up red Glasgow, most likely the good looking pilot from the truck. He smiled at that, he would have to look her up. She was incredibly talented from what he was seeing. Her resistance members showed up around her, and he had just gifted them a train-full of Sutherlands, courtesy of Clovis, and distributed call-signs. He ordered them to prepare and adjust to the KMFs, and he would contact them in ten minutes. By the time he was done, R.R. had debated the pros and cons of making a contract with this man she didn't know about but who apparently knew about her. She figured that it couldn't hurt, as he seemed capable, but she had the distinct feeling that she was missing something.

"In exchange," she said, breaking Lelouch out of his plotting and strategizing, "I want you to free me from this curse."

"Curse?" he repeated, curious what she meant. His peripherals showed him Anya on one of his screens, firing away at some of Clovis's ground troops. "What do you mean?"

"My immortality. For some of us Code bearers, we realized too late just what it means to be immortal. It's so hard to watch the world move on without you, while everyone and everything you know fades away in front of you. I've been trying for almost a century to get rid of my code. I want you to help me."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold it. How am I supposed to do that?"

"As you use your Geass, it grows stronger. Eventually it will evolve and spread to both eyes. If you manage to gain control over your Geass and it becomes powerful enough to manifest in both eyes, you can take the Code from a code bearer. This will render them mortal, while the code will stay inactive within you until you die, at which moment it will activate. When you absorb the Code of the bearer who gave you Geass, you lose your Geass when you die."

While he ordered about his newly conscripted terrorists as they eliminated Clovis's forces, Lelouch's mind went spinning once again, running through scenarios and coming up with lists of implications from what she had just told him. Eventually, he started to giggle, then start cackling maniacally. When he calmed down, he said,

"Very well, R.R. I shall agree to take your Code from you in exchange for you granting me a Geass."

Her eyes widened. She quickly made the contract before he changed his mind. When it was done, she said, "I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into. Immortality is a lot worse than people think." He just laughed at her.

"My dear, when you have aspirations for global domination, immortality is anything but a curse," he said with a feral grin. R.R. shivered. That look was so predatory; she'd be scared if she wasn't already immortal.

Lelouch was brought back to the battle as Anya reported a prototype knightmare entering the fray. He ordered his rag-tag army to stash the Sutherlands and evacuate any remaining civies. He then moved to provide Anya backup against the white knightmare that was heading her way. He let her lead the engagement, while he would support and try to distract the enemy pilot. While he was usually a better pilot than Anya, he was much more at home in faster frames, like the Glasgow or his own Aberdeens. But with him in a Sutherland or one of the new Gloucesters, Anya could beat him three out of every five times. She was much more comfortable piloting heavier frames than he was.

The white knightmare arrived, and it was time for them to dance.

"Anya, take his right and try to turn his back to me, I'll shoot out his landspinners," he called out.

"Roger," she called, as she dodged several slash harkens. "It seems he has extra slash harkens, be advised." She darted to her right, using her rifle in her right hand and using her left hand's stun tonfa to cause him to block with his arm that was nearest Lelouch.

"Noted, keep him there." Lelouch fired and took out the opponents landspinners, slowing it significantly. Anya moved back as they both opened fire, but their bullets were blocked by a green colored glowing barrier that appeared. "Anya, remind me to dig around and find out what this thing is. I want one." His words earned him a giggle from her. Anya dropped her now empty rifle and pulled out a chaos grenade in each hand. She threw one at the white frame as she and Lelouch ducked behind cover.

When the rain of piercing metal spikes ended, the pilot of the white frame saw a slash harken coming towards him, but its trajectory would miss him by a short distance. He decided to try and grab the harken and pull his opponent in. It was only after he grabbed the wire that he realized there was something stuck to the end of the harken, which was now directly beside him. He barely managed to bring up his blaze luminous and protect his torso before the second grenade detonated, perforating his legs with razor sharp projectiles. His crippled frame fell to its knees. As he awaited the finishing blow, he realized some time later that his attackers had retreated. A small part of his awareness heard Lloyd yelling in the background asking about his precious Lancelot's status, while Cecile was asking if he was okay.

* * *

When they arrived at the G-1, Lelouch sent R.R. back with Anya, telling them to take the tunnels back to the underground base beneath Ashford. It wasn't the biggest of his warehouses, but it was a good holding area for things before they were transported elsewhere. He watched them go as he met up with his enslaved guard. He Geassed a uniform from a nearby soldier, then had the guard escort him to the G-1 command room. He had the man inform Clovis and Bartley that one of his soldiers had a report about the gas container, and wished to report it himself since it was of a sensitive nature. Lelouch walked in behind the guard, and spotted Clovis sitting on his throne at the rear of the room, with Bartley beside him. He took off his helmet and looked Bartley in the eye, saying _"Obey"_. Then he turned to Clovis and said at gunpoint,

"Hello brother, it's so nice to see you. Fancy meeting you here, of all places. I suggest you order a ceasefire."

After hastily calling a ceasefire, the man was stuttering like mad. "L-L-Lelouch, w-w-what are you d-doing here?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just almost got killed by your royal guardsmen. I enslaved them and killed most of them. Then I trashed your forces and stole Bartley over there from you. By the way, would you mind giving me everything you have on Code-R? I could take it from you by force, but I'd rather not."

"W-what d-do you m-m-mean? I have no idea what you're talking about," Clovis lied, although it was extremely obvious that he did, if his wide eyes and profuse sweating meant anything. Lelouch turned to Bartley.

"General Bartley Asprius, you will act as normal as possible while under my control. You will obey me and your loyalty belongs to me."

"Yes, your highness. What would you ask of me?" he responded with a bow, his motions losing the robotic quality that was usually present with those under his Geass. His eyes didn't lose the faint red outline though.

"Please get me all the data on Code-R, and destroy any copies that you cannot bring to me, physical or otherwise."

"Yes my lord, I shall go retrieve them. Also, you may wish to know that Prince Clovis's ring contains a data chip with copies of most of the data."

Lelouch smiled. "Thank you," he said, as Bartley bowed and went off to complete his task. He turned to Clovis and motioned for him to give him the ring, flaring his Geass threateningly until he complied. "My thanks, dear brother. I have to ask, whose idea was it to completely screw over all the progress you've made here? This will be a PR nightmare for your administration."

"I-it was Bartley," he all but shouted. "He said the only way to get the container back without anybody finding out was to eliminate the whole ghetto. I never liked the idea, but he convinced me it was for the best."

Lelouch sighed, amazed at his brother's ineptitude. "I'm sorry that your advisors failed you, brother. I believe you that it wasn't your idea. But now I have a dilemma. What am I to do with you? I'd rather not kill you, but I can't let you go to spread the knowledge of my actions here today. Hmm, what to do…" Clovis started to beg and plead, but nothing he could offer did Lelouch need from him. He ordered the still nearby guard to download any and all valuable or useful data from the G-1, then delete the security recordings. Having decided what to do with Clovis, he turned back to his whimpering brother.

" _You shall forget everything about both Code-R and my involvement in today's events. If I say to you the words "King's Gambit" you will obey me until I tell you otherwise. You will now fall unconscious after I shoot you and strike you on the head."_ With that, he shot Clovis in the side with the guard's pistol- no sense leaving ballistics evidence- and then pistol whipped him on the temple.

Bartley returned, and he collected both the G-1 data and the Code-R data from his minions. He then ordered the guard to get medical attention and a guard detail for the prince, and then go kill himself away from where others could see. He pulled a notebook from his back pocket, then wrote down a set of coordinates on a piece of paper and handed it to Bartley, ordering him to gather his team and all of their equipment and supplies, and then head to the warehouse at that location.

Having done all he needed to for the moment, Lelouch replaced his helmet upon his head, and returned to his knightmare. Nobody noticed him entering the subway tunnels as he left the scene and headed back to Ashford.

* * *

 **AN:**

This marks the end of the reworked chapters of the rewrite. Everything from here on out will be original and will take longer to write.


End file.
